Assignment On Selling Clothing Online Essay

Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the leading clothing companies in the world. They manufacture

It can be served as a competitive advantage, which attracts more customers shifting from Amazon’s online retailer competitors into buying their products, thus increasing the market share.

In 1999, Amazon became a merchant platform by introducing zShop, “a new service that allows anyone to sell merchandise through its website”. (Moore, 1999) It not only creates extra revenue from the $9.99 monthly subscription fee from sellers but also “60 cents per transaction for payments made with 1-Click, as well as 4.75 percent of the final sale”. (Moore, 1999)

Amazon can benefit from lower transaction costs. In the past, many firms did not want to price discriminate because it was time consuming, difficult and expensive to collect information about how each customer reacts to a change in price. However, recent advances in computer technology have pushed the transaction costs

Amazon make sure that customer service is the best, Customers experience low prices through Amazon, the fastest delivery, having a form of reliable contact. Amazon customer service problems have allowed retailers to sell itme on the website, to make broaden the worlds selections of products. Amazon has a rival EBAY, which also allows merchant to sell and buy through its site, but with eBay there has been complaints with poor service and fraud (Cohen, 2009).

Amazon.com has successfully managed to make its customers to feel that anything they could possibly want could be found on their website. Additionally, its products are marketed at a competitive price. Another important factor is their speedy delivery with their usage of UPS and FedEx (United States) and Royal Mail (United Kingdom). The company also caters for people that prefer online shopping with extra services such as Amazon Prime - a service with a yearly payment, customers are eligible for free next day delivery. Even though Amazon.com is known to be an online seller of most things, it still excels in its original market of book selling. Evidence of such is

b. Does the issue of branded vs. private label enter into this consideration? Why or why not?

‘We believe that the principal competitive factors in our retail businesses include selection, price, and convenience, including fast and reliable fulfilment. Additional competitive factors for our seller and enterprise services include the quality, speed, and reliability of our services and tools, as well as customers’ ability and willingness to change business practices’ (Amazon10-K report 2015).

Besides that, another part of Amazon as a seller model includes the Syndicated Stores program, which allows third-party

Many consumers go for what appears to be cheapest and most convenient. The reality is, Amazon’s increasing dominance comes with high costs. “These consequences have gone largely unnoticed thanks to Amazon’s remarkable invisibility and the way its tentacles have quietly extended their reach” (LaVecchia, 2016). It is vital that consumers are aware of this superpower that is taking over.

E-commerce Explain what is meant by the term ‘E-commerce’. It is the conducting of business communication and transactions over networks and through computers. As most restrictively defined, electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, and the transfer of funds, through digital communications. However EC also includes all inter-company and intra-company functions (such as marketing, finance, manufacturing, selling, and negotiation) that enable commerce and use electronic mail, EDI, file transfer, fax, video conferencing, workflow, or interaction with a remote computer. Electronic commerce also includes buying and selling over the Web, electronic funds transfer, smart cards, digital cash (e.g.

The threat of substitutes for Amazon is high. With the exception of its patented technology, there are quite a lot of alternatives to Amazon’s products and services. In addition to physical presence, most companies have an online store as well. Amazon’s products can be purchased all over the internet and they are just spread out among different web sites. The companies operate in brick-and-click mode providing the similar product categories and competitive prices have become the biggest threat for Amazon. However it is extremely difficult for Amazon to establish physical stores or launch price

I must admit that I am predisposed to Amazon as I am an avid buyer and take advantage of being a prime member. I was hoping to be influenced or at the very least tempted into purchasing from another site. There was no

Amazon’s core competencies are in its ability to effectively use and develop technology to drive site traffic and enhance the customer experience. Their distinctive use of website real estate coupled with their ability to leverage their brand and effectively use that leverage to deliver low prices and high quality products, makes them a leader in online retailing. Their partner brands and their ability to adapt and recognize deficiencies enable them to effectively cut out the middle man, or at the very least, partner with them.

Retailers have adapted to the online marketplace out of necessity and opportunity. The great recession placed many retail companies in financial hardship and while some failed, others innovated and became some of the largest companies in America such as Amazon. A recent trend is consumers are buying more products online than ever before. As a consumer, I enjoy shopping in the convenience of my home and having the items delivered to my doorstep in 48 hours or less. Global internet access continues to increase, with mobile devices and affordable internet for the home, consumers will continue to shift and buy products online rather than in retail brick and mortar locations. Online sales in the United States have increased over 250% in the last ten years, accomplishing $250.0 billion in 2012 (Tehrani, 2014). Therefore, Amazon is in a solid market position to capitalize on the future trends and booming ecommerce